Why do people live there, you ask ...
Shipping, Fishing, Oil (for Tex & La anyways, Fla - not so much on oil)
Houston - Oil City - almost from founding to today, certainly to growth from 30's to 90's - played a huge part in WWII
New Orleans - SHIPPING - Mississippi River ring a bell - all Midwest was dependent on it.
Florida - 'Cuz people be nuts.